MARU, Mt Kiara. 2-in-1 Jap & Korean. Truly Value for Moolah!

I remember reading a few posts on Venicia (in Bangsar Puteri) & Fiesta, Mont Kiara lately & subsequently leaving a remark to Sean about how it would be interesting to hunt those lesser known food outlets, cozily tucked away in condos.

And by some crazy twist of events I found another gem of such praise-worthy restaurant in Angkupuri Condominium, on Jalan Kiara itself.

maru signage

Driving around Mt Kiara aimlessly after feeling disappointed to find Patisserie RUI closed, I called up a close real estate friend (who lives nearby) & asked her about the CHEAP Jap & Korean place she was raving about few weeks ago.

“Oh, come come! I haven’t had lunch yet either!”, she chirped cheerily on the phone.

Ah, great. Not a trip wasted then, I thought as I swung into her condo.

Maru, SURPRISINGLY, is actually under the umbrella of Shogun & Saisaki group of restaurants.

shogun

The restaurant is situated on the ground floor of Angkupuri Condominium and there are separate sections/rooms for the kitchen & dining (funnily, it is not all housed within one big outlet).
For inside dining, one will be ushered into one of the many private dining rooms.

interior

Which is great, for you’ll get privacy, plus any ruckus you make with your gang of dining partners will be “contained” within the thin walls 😉

As you can see above, they have this interesting circular tanks of live seafood, allowing patrons to choose their ‘prey’ and have it prepared on the spot for their dining pleasure.

However, I didn’t think live seafood in tanks are anything new..till I saw this….

live octupus

..and my friend said it will be caught and slained on the spot to prepare this!

octopus1

Too bad I missed the action of the preparation since she only told me that after the meal!

Anyhow, should you prefer dining alfresco style, out in the open by the pool, enjoying the cool caressing breeze and sounds of water, the outdoor tables are just as comfortable.

MARU - outside

My friend took charge of ordering while I browsed through the menus.
Yup, Maru got not one, but TWO wide-ranging menus for each of their Korean and Japanese offerings.

The free flow ban chan (Korean side dishes) were laid out as we tried to decide on the rest of our lunch.

banchan

And a complimentary trio of appetiser was served to each one of us shortly after we placed our orders.

Deep fried soft- shelled crab & fresh fillets of fish plus a cute pork dumpling (siew mai lookalike)

appetizer trio

Not bad, the crab and fish was fresh and its flesh sweet. The “siew mai” thing was forgettable though.

Their Sashimi is a must -order, my friend had said, and went on gushing & swooning about how fresh it was on her previous visits and how the cuts were very sweet and succulent.

Sashimi (5 kinds of fish) Rm25.

sashimi

And I have to agree whole-heartedly. It was REALLY, REALLY fresh with each cut thick, firm and moist.
Feeling very pleased, we added orders of Tekka Maki (tuna sushi) RM10 & Sushi Nigiri Special, RM28 & both were up to expectations.
I love the vinegared rice of each piece of sushi. It was perfectly cooked, with each grain firm and the overall gobbet of rice not too compact. Plus the amount of vinegar was in good balance too.

sushi

When dining Korean, the BBQ meats are a must. We had the Marinated Sliced Pork for RM30.
Instead of having it grilled in front of us, my friend requested for it to be grilled and cut in the kitchen as she was worried of getting smoky smell in her hair and outfit.

Pork - BBQ

Myself, an unagi fan, ordered the Korean Unagi, RM30.

Korean unagi

It arrived looking very impressive, all mahogany glazed and shining with promise. I could bare wait to pop a slice into my mouth.

Sadly it was a let-down as the sauce was wayyyyy too infuriatingly sweet and I could barely enjoy the flesh of the eel. Neither could my 3 other dining companions.

During the feedback session, Chef Eric apologised and explained that the Koreans and Japanese actually enjoyed it prepared this way. However, he acknowledges that Asian has milder tastebuds.

chef

For the sake of a balanced diet, our order of Kani Kama Tataki, RM12 was a good choice with its creamy tangy dressing.
However, I wished that they had thrown in better quality crab sticks instead of the generic ones. Even Pasta Zanmai serves better crab sticks!

Another thing to note about this place, the chef has a tendency of sending surprise dishes ON THE HOUSE your way.
For 4 of us, we had a few complimentary dishes on top of the Appetiser Trio and Fruits (which my friend said its customary).
The Avocado Tofu roll below is complimentary.

fresh

This delicious Japchae (stir fried clear noodles) with Beef Slices and Vegetables was complimentary as well.
With generous fillets of tender beef & loads of capsicums, sweet peas, carrots, mushrooms & wood fungus, it is worth the price of RM20 if ordered ala-carte.

korean noodles

So, the 4 of us were stuffed to the brim and I couldn’t even fit in dessert. And we only paid about RM25 each.
receipt

MARU, what a great find!

OPEN DAILY:
1130am – 3pm
5.30 – 10pm

This Post Has 26 Comments

  1. Bangsar-bAbE

    A great find indeed!! The sashimi is very reasonable. When are we going there?? =D

  2. ai wei

    i can't believe it. you ate a lot but it's only RM 111?!?!?! @@

  3. SimpleGirl

    really very reasonable price for thst much of food U ordered!!!

  4. Tummythoz

    Jln Kiara, Angkapuri. Got it! Err just drive into that condo compound to park?

  5. thenomadGourmand

    b-babe: anytime dear! Sat?? LOL

    ai wei: Yees! I was stunned too!

    simplegirl: I can't believe this was possible in Mt Kiara myself.

    tummythoz: Go in a group! More complimentary dishes! LOL.
    Oh, parking-wise I'm not sure since I walked frm my friend's condo!

  6. Sean

    ooh, this looks really worthwhile! i actually have a friend living at angkupuri too … have seen this outlet while driving in to visit, but didn't realize it serves such a wide variety of food. must remember to give it a try and see if any octopus is still alive! 😀

  7. "Joe" who is constantly craving

    thats alot of complimentary items!

    sashimi for rm25? thats a steal!

  8. Allie

    I'm a unagi lover too. Your picture makes the unagi looks so good, but seems like it turned out the other way round ya. .

  9. J2Kfm

    cheap indeed. a good find, though I have doubts when it comes to Shogun and Sasaki. aiks.

    RM25 for 5 types of sashimi!?!! wah … even the average Jap fast food outlets can't give that price.

  10. UnkaLeong

    That's a really economical Jap Meal 😉

  11. babe_kl

    wow very reasonable, thanks for highlighting

  12. J

    Wah. Really great value! Love these little restaurants hidden in the Mont Kiara area – it's like a treasure hunt……
    🙂

  13. Life for Beginners

    I certainly like the design on them glasses… 🙂

  14. thenomadGourmand

    Sean: Haha..rmbr to take shots of them cuttin it up *sadistic look* LOL.

    Joe: I thot so too!

    Allie: Hehe..u come KL, we go cake and Jap food hunting!

    J2kfm: Yes, the moment I sat down & saw the place mat I was worried. BUt the food turned out well!

    UnkaLeong: We go celeb once your house is done k? ;p

    babe_kl: Go try! Better still if go in a group, may get more complimentary stuffs! ;p

    J: Lets go hunting then! 😉

    lfb: Trust u to notice that! 😉

  15. mimid3vils

    Sashimi for only RM 25.00? I thought u write it wrong until i saw the receipt 😛

  16. foodbin

    love those banchan.

  17. taufulou

    like the place lei..
    added into my huinting list liau and the price is reasonable too~

  18. ~Christine~Leng

    GREAT FIND no doubt! ok. I have to go cari MARU now.

  19. 550ml jar of faith @minchow

    Cheapppp!! This restaurants hidden within condos are the new IT joints! Hmm perhaps I should consider property in this area… what's a lil traffic congestion when there's this to contend with!?

  20. vialentino

    1st thing…price is cheap wor…i thought at least rm 150.

    the unagi sauce taste too sweet…they over done it. i prefer a balance…can feel the eel flesh ler.

    anyway, ur pics melt my tongue liow

  21. worldwindows

    Looks like cannot help it but go….

  22. Roxana Barness

    Good web site/write up. Thank you. Its pretty hidden but worth the trouble!

  23. tancs

    someone have d location map can share. Thanks

    1. Rebecca

      Hey Tan, do you know the main Mt Kiara road whre you will pass McD on your right?
      Just go further down, look for it on your LEFT – Angkupuri Condominiums. It is inside the condo’s compounds 😉
      Else give them a call 603- 6201 1471/72
      Must try the live octopus! :mail:

  24. connie

    thanks to ur review, i went there last nite (2 of us).. ordered live octopus sashimi, a certain maki roll, 3 kinds of fish sashimi, bbq marinated pork ribs, 10pcs oyster sashimi, korean ginseng chicken soup, a big bowl of beef slice korean noodle, one california roll, plus rm30 corkage charges for wine.. total bill rm230++..soooo worth it… the bbq pork was really delicious and i love that they serve a better qualilty of lettuce instead of the normal lettuce.. all sashimi were good too but oyster sashimi wasnt tat fresh. will definitely go again… thanks rebecca!

    1. rebeccasaw

      Wow! Now u making me wantin to give them atr visit! 😉
      Thks for yr comment 😉 So happy u liked it! :heart:

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